18 Great Actors Totally Wasted In James Bond Movies

9. Rory Kinnear

Rami Malek No Time To Die
MGM

Played: Bill Tanner in Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die.

Bill Tanner, MI6's chief of staff, is a pretty thankless role, since all he does is stand around in a suit and explain things to people. Therefore, it is a bit of a shame that the person playing the part in the Craig films is Rory Kinnear, who's one of the finest British actors of his generation.

Kinnear's well-remembered for his performance as the unfortunate Prime Minister who's forced to have sex with a pig in the first episode of Black Mirror, but the rest of his career is equally impressive, especially his Tony-winning performance as Iago in a 2013 production of Othello and his masterful turn in Russell T. Davies' Years and Years.

Rory Kinnear is absolutely fine as Bill Tanner, but he just doesn't get anything to do and, considering what a phenomenal actor he really is, it is distracting as hell to see him doing nothing more than relaying exposition.

Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.